Crimson Roses
by Crimson Crystals
Summary: A mysterious string of assasinations begins as soon as Sanosuke meets a strange young woman. Kenshin begins to get suspicious and tries to find out if there's a connection, but is soon to find out that he might be a target of the assasin, as well.


Author's Note – First of all, Disclaimer. I do _not_ own Rurouni Kenshin or any of the characters in the anime, lol. This is my first Kenshin fic, so bear with me a bit if I can't get their personalities down as well as you would want me to. Lol.

The moon shone brightly through the clouds, over the streets, illuminating most of the alleyways and rooftops. A carriage traveled slowly down the street, the horses' hooves creating a slow, steady beat as they walked. Two guards walked ahead of the carriage, one with a gun, the other, a sword.

A cloaked figure watched this from the sidelines, his hand gripped tightly around the hilt of a sword. He watched the carriage, following it as it went, careful to stay in the shadows, where the moon didn't shine. He lifted himself onto a shadowy rooftop, glancing up over the rim of his hood at the cloudy night sky. He crouched, continuing along the edge of the rooftop, following them slowly, his hand still gripping his sheathed sword. The wind blew softly around him, sending his cloak billowing over the edge of the roof, carrying the sweet scent of roses toward the carriage. He reached with his free hand into the back of his cloak, reaching into a pouch that clung to his side.

One of the guards looked up, the scent of roses swirling around him. He held up a hand and stopped the carriage, glancing around at eye level. "Hey," he paused for a moment, glancing at his partner, the gunman. "You smell that?"

The gunman glanced over at him. "I swear, I didn't do it…"

His partner glared over at him. "Not that, dumb ass. The flowery smell."

"Oh…" The gunman blinked at him, then paused and glanced around. "Well, we're right near a whorehouse, what do you expect?"

His partner sighed slightly. "I suppose…"

The cloaked figure smirked beneath his hood and brought his fist to his nose, taking a small sniff before opening it, revealing a handful of rose petals. He stopped for a moment as the wind fluttered around him, and blew the rose petals from his hand, towards the guards. He stood and watched the rose petals descend towards them.

The gunman looked up. "Flower petals?"

His partner raised an eyebrow, raising his hand to catch one of them. "But it's not even summer yet…"

The cloaked figure tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword before drawing it, glancing up at the sky. He turned the blade slightly so that it reflected the light from the moon as is it shone through a gap in the clouds.

The swordsman looked up, the reflection of the light catching his eye. "Hey…"

The gunman looked up and reached for his gun, fumbling with the hilt as the swords stumbled to draw his sword. The gunman aimed his gun, the reflection from the blade glaring brightly in his eyes. The figure merely stood there, watching, waiting, his cloak billowing around him. The gunman hesitated a moment, the smell of roses swirling around him, before letting a single shot ring through the silence of the night. The bullet pierced the night as it made it's way toward the figure on the rooftop. The figure stood almost entirely still for a moment, waiting. He raised his sword, the bulleting making a loud pinging sound as it repelled off the blade and up into the air. The gunman stared, bewildered, as the figure jumped from the rooftop, seeming to glide along the currents of the wind. He landed in a crouch before them, his sword resting on the ground.

The swordsman tensed, getting into a defensive stance as the gunman raised his gun once more. The figure sprang forward, pushing himself off the ground and holding his sword back up, the blades making a clanging sound as they clashed into each other. The guard started to push the figure back. The figure pulled back and ducked under his blade, slashing upwards through the guard's torso, cutting straight through, as if there were no bones to speak of. The gunman stood, shaking, trying to steady his gun as the body of his dead partner fell to the ground, his sword clattering beside him. The figure stepped forward, toward the gunman, stepping into the pool of blood at was draining from the dead guard, staining the ground.

The figure darted towards him, appearing just in front of him, the hooded face still covered in shadow as it rested itself just beside the barrel of the gun. The gunman gaped, his mouth open in a silent scream. The figure raised his sword and cut up through his throat, severing his head from his body. He stood as the gun fell to the ground with it's owner, the blood draining from the neck of the body. He glanced down at the bodies, reaching into the pouch once more and sprinkling rose petals down onto them, watching the petals make ripples in the pools of blood.

He looked up and walked towards the carriage, paying no mind to the whimpering of the man inside, nor the fact that the carriage door was locked. He raised his sword and slashed the handle, the bottom half of it falling to the ground, the door swinging open. He stepped up onto the carriage and pulled the door closed behind him, still holding his sword up, the blade red with blood.

The man inside cowered, shrinking away from the blade. "P-Please…" he pleaded, stuttering. "D-Don't hurt me…"

The figure merely seemed to look at him, his face shrouded in darkness beneath the hood. The man looked up at him, slightly confused as to why he wasn't dead yet. The figure held the sword to his chest, pressing slightly against his flesh. The man whimpered, his eyes fixed on the sword. The figure leaned forward, his free hand clutching his hood as he pulled it back, revealing the lean face of a woman, a lock of her red hair falling out of it's bindings and into her face, her green eyes flashing dangerously.

The man stared for a moment, his eyes wide. "A woman?" He blinked a moment, his expression turning from surprise to outrage. "I can't be killed by a woman!"

The woman merely smiled, and spoke in a silky, melodic voice. "Goodbye, Mr. Takahashi." She continued to smile as she pushed the sword through his chest, and into the cushion behind him. She turned it sharply and pulled it free, her smile disappearing, giving way to an expression of pure loathing. She sheathed her sword, reaching into her cloak and pulling out a single white rose. She placed the rose into the wound and pulled her hood back over her head, bringing her face back into shadow. Swiftly, she turned and opened the carriage door, stepping down to the ground and walked away from the carriage, back into the shadows.

Author's Note – Well, then. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. I promise I'll be bringing in the other characters from Kenshin in the next chapter. Lol.


End file.
